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95
Chapter 4: Eve of Destruction
Complete victory for their platform
and candidates on November 8, 1898 was
the goal for Democrats. Their strategy
included the use of intimidation and scare
tactics to keep black Republicans away from
the polls and white Fusionists at bay.
Towards the end of the campaign, leading
Republicans saw clearly that the game was
lost and that they should seek to prevent
outright bloodshed in the name of politics.
The final days of the campaign were hectic
with politicians making last minute deals
and the press relishing in the fracas as the
daily papers contributed as much to the
frenzy as did fiery speechmakers like Alfred
Moore Waddell.
A Unifying Issue
Discussion of the 1898 white
supremacy campaign cannot be complete
without analyzing the contributions of
Alexander Manly to the political circus.
Manly’s newspaper article challenging
accepted beliefs regarding interracial
relationships provided another weapon in
the Democrat’s white supremacy arsenal.
Born in 1866, a descendant of Governor
Charles Manly, and a native of Wake
County, Alex Manly relocated to
Wilmington after receiving an education at
Hampton Institute. He was soon joined in
business by several of his brothers who
assisted him in opening the city’s leading
black newspaper, the Daily Record. Manly
acquired a used printing press from Thomas
Clawson, editor of the Wilmington
Messenger, and successfully operated the
paper for a number of years prior to the
1898 white supremacy campaign. 1 In
1 It is unclear when Manly began publication of the
Record, but the earliest extant copy dates to 1895.
The Record’s archives were apparently destroyed
during the riot. By 1897, the paper was successful
addition to his printing operations, Manly
became involved in city politics and social
life, teaching Sunday school at the Chestnut
Street Presbyterian Church and serving as
deputy register of deeds. Manly’s paper
was considered “ a very creditable colored
paper” and received white support through
subscriptions and advertising. Because of
its wide readership throughout the state, the
paper expanded its publication from a
weekly to a daily in 1897. Although the
paper was supported by the white
community through advertising, Manly used
the paper as a voice for the city’s
progressive African American community as
he sought universal improvement of blacks
throughout the city. The paper advocated
internal improvements, and its editorials
managed to raise the ire of some whites. 2
The editorial that proved to be the
doom of the Record was printed in August
1898 as a response to a speech of Rebecca
L. Felton of Georgia. 3 Felton had developed
enough to switch to daily publication from weekly.
Andrea M. Kirshenbaum, “ Race, Gender and Riot,”
38; Clawson, “ Recollections and Memories.”
2 Prather, We Have Taken a City, 68- 70; McDuffie,
“ Politics in Wilmington,” 585- 6; Kirshenbaum,
“ Race Gender and Riot,” 37- 38; Clawson,
“ Recollections and Memories.”
3 Some contemporary debate arose among
Republicans and Populists as to whether Manly wrote
the article and whether he was paid by Democrats to
print it. It was speculated that Manly had spoken out
against such claims and defended his paper as he
claimed responsibility for the work. Chief of Police
Melton felt Manly was prompted to print the article
by Democrats as he testified that he thought “ if
Manly did not get a good round price for that
editorial he ought to be put in the asylum for crazy.”
Melton also observed that if Democrats did not
support Manly in some way they would not have
allowed him to continue in publication until the
election. He also explained that he was told that the
paper was not suppressed because it was a good
campaign tool for the Democrats. Melton claimed to
have heard numbers of people state that they thought
Manly was paid for the article and that Wake County

95
Chapter 4: Eve of Destruction
Complete victory for their platform
and candidates on November 8, 1898 was
the goal for Democrats. Their strategy
included the use of intimidation and scare
tactics to keep black Republicans away from
the polls and white Fusionists at bay.
Towards the end of the campaign, leading
Republicans saw clearly that the game was
lost and that they should seek to prevent
outright bloodshed in the name of politics.
The final days of the campaign were hectic
with politicians making last minute deals
and the press relishing in the fracas as the
daily papers contributed as much to the
frenzy as did fiery speechmakers like Alfred
Moore Waddell.
A Unifying Issue
Discussion of the 1898 white
supremacy campaign cannot be complete
without analyzing the contributions of
Alexander Manly to the political circus.
Manly’s newspaper article challenging
accepted beliefs regarding interracial
relationships provided another weapon in
the Democrat’s white supremacy arsenal.
Born in 1866, a descendant of Governor
Charles Manly, and a native of Wake
County, Alex Manly relocated to
Wilmington after receiving an education at
Hampton Institute. He was soon joined in
business by several of his brothers who
assisted him in opening the city’s leading
black newspaper, the Daily Record. Manly
acquired a used printing press from Thomas
Clawson, editor of the Wilmington
Messenger, and successfully operated the
paper for a number of years prior to the
1898 white supremacy campaign. 1 In
1 It is unclear when Manly began publication of the
Record, but the earliest extant copy dates to 1895.
The Record’s archives were apparently destroyed
during the riot. By 1897, the paper was successful
addition to his printing operations, Manly
became involved in city politics and social
life, teaching Sunday school at the Chestnut
Street Presbyterian Church and serving as
deputy register of deeds. Manly’s paper
was considered “ a very creditable colored
paper” and received white support through
subscriptions and advertising. Because of
its wide readership throughout the state, the
paper expanded its publication from a
weekly to a daily in 1897. Although the
paper was supported by the white
community through advertising, Manly used
the paper as a voice for the city’s
progressive African American community as
he sought universal improvement of blacks
throughout the city. The paper advocated
internal improvements, and its editorials
managed to raise the ire of some whites. 2
The editorial that proved to be the
doom of the Record was printed in August
1898 as a response to a speech of Rebecca
L. Felton of Georgia. 3 Felton had developed
enough to switch to daily publication from weekly.
Andrea M. Kirshenbaum, “ Race, Gender and Riot,”
38; Clawson, “ Recollections and Memories.”
2 Prather, We Have Taken a City, 68- 70; McDuffie,
“ Politics in Wilmington,” 585- 6; Kirshenbaum,
“ Race Gender and Riot,” 37- 38; Clawson,
“ Recollections and Memories.”
3 Some contemporary debate arose among
Republicans and Populists as to whether Manly wrote
the article and whether he was paid by Democrats to
print it. It was speculated that Manly had spoken out
against such claims and defended his paper as he
claimed responsibility for the work. Chief of Police
Melton felt Manly was prompted to print the article
by Democrats as he testified that he thought “ if
Manly did not get a good round price for that
editorial he ought to be put in the asylum for crazy.”
Melton also observed that if Democrats did not
support Manly in some way they would not have
allowed him to continue in publication until the
election. He also explained that he was told that the
paper was not suppressed because it was a good
campaign tool for the Democrats. Melton claimed to
have heard numbers of people state that they thought
Manly was paid for the article and that Wake County